Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the United States will give $ 60 million to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for help to Palestinian refugees on Friday , a move designed to improve the lives of 4.7 million people .

The aid comes as the United States and the international community struggle to provide increased aid to Palestinians living in Gaza . In May , in a deadly clash aboard a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza , Israeli forces killed nine activists . Israel subsequently has said it will ease restrictions on aid going into Gaza but will not end its naval blockade .

The United States already is the largest single source of support for refugees and refugees and victims of conflict internationally , Clinton said , providing $ 1.7 billion last year , including $ 640 million for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees , or the UNHCR .

Clinton made the comments at a World Refugee Day event , co-hosted by the Department of State and the UNHCR .

It included live interactive video feeds with High Commissioner Antonio Guterres and an Iraqi refugee family in Syria ; UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie ; and a UNHCR official and a Congolese man displaced because to activities of the Lord 's Resistance Army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

`` We are all vulnerable no matter how comfortable our lives may appear to be , '' Clinton said . `` But we too , around the world , those of us who enjoy the benefits of the life that we have built or inherited , we too are vulnerable to war and conflict , droughts and floods , environmental disasters as we 've seen even in our own country . ''

Clinton said that many of the refugee problems can not be solved simply with humanitarian aid .

`` It 's a question of better governance , more accountable governance , of political and diplomatic efforts , of reconciliation and peace , of the growth of democracies and economies . '' she said .

Angelina Jolie , with 34 refugee families from Colombia living on the border with Ecuador , said they were `` terrified '' and that almost everyone in the families had someone who had been murdered . `` They are so grateful just to be safe , '' she said .

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made comments at World Refugee Day

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U.S. is largest source of support for refugees , victims of conflict internationally , Clinton said

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Clinton said the U.S. providing $ 1.7 billion last year